Many families try to keep their lives in sync with one another when it comes to scheduling time together. If one spouse gets out of work early, they will try and plan something special for the family so that they all spend time together.
This is a great idea when it works, but there are many days when a parent doesn’t get out of work until later in the evening. In this case, you might need to make some changes to your schedule so that you can spend time with your family after work even if you don’t have a lot of time during the day. Here are some tips on how to arrange family time around your work hours:
Schedule a Schedule
The first step in this is to actually write down all of your work and family commitments. Where do you need to be, and when? Who else will be affected by these schedules? For example, if Dad works until 7 pm but little Johnny’s soccer games start at 6 pm, maybe Dad can find someone to give him a ride to the game. If Mom works until 5 pm but little Susie needs someone to pick her up from school at 3, maybe Grandma can do it or Dad can find a way to leave work early twice a week.
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Plan Ahead
No matter how well you schedule things out, there are always going to be times when your work hours are going to get in the way of your family time. When kids are young especially, it can be hard to make plans because you never know when your work hours will actually be. The best thing that you can do is plan ahead for these times.
For example, if little Susie has a birthday party on Saturday morning and Mom usually gets home late on Saturday, Mom might want to talk with Grandma and arrange for her to stay at the house until Mom can get there. This way she doesn’t have to cancel plans or disappoint Susie’s friends by missing the party completely.
Be Flexible
In addition to planning ahead, you also need to be flexible when certain things come up. It’s important to maintain a healthy life outside of work, but sometimes unexpected things come up. Maybe little Johnny breaks his leg and he has to go into the emergency room for an X-ray. This means that Dad can’t plan a special dinner with him that day as he had planned. Instead, he might want to make plans with Johnny on a different day.
In the end, scheduling family time around work hours can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. However, with some planning and flexibility, you should be able to spend more time with your family without sacrificing your work life. You just have to remember that no matter what happens, everyone’s safety is always going to come first so you should never neglect your work entirely.